Project Overview
The park district brought on a new team who has experience working on large projects from a web design agency. The leader’s role is to direct many aspects of the park district’s communication to the public and supported the need to update their website. Seeing the need for an improved user experience, I recruited an experienced UX designer, Miranda Reese to help. This project is in the midst of the redesign process, so there is much more to come.
Technical Advantages
- The client has experience with WordPress and has a good understanding of the platform
- They already have great content and a strong brand
- They set out with a clear vision for what they were looking for
- They have me in place, as knowledgeable in accessibility and design to help them with the development and implementation of the design
- The client is comfortable working with my ticketing and note taking system, so we can work together to ensure all design decisions implemented
- Everyone is comfortable and onboard with Figma so we will be able to land on a consistent design
Technical Challenges
- The design calls for a lot of images, and animation, so early efforts to deploy web performance techniques will be valuable
- We find that many pages need scrolling, so an effort to ensure that people will be able to find what they are looking for and navigable by keyboard will be important
- The client has requested a focus on accessibility and is not resistant to it, but there is a low familiarity with some aspects, which surprises me
- The designer is not familiar with WordPress, so we will need to help her understand common patterns and practices
Solution
Currently I could not find a better team to work with, so I am excited to see how this project unfolds. Later in the year, I am scheduling to bring on testing and accessibility expert, James Warnken who has certifications in digital accesibility and will help us ensure the site is usable by visitors with disabilities using accessibility tools.
- I have selected a theme called Flynt that will aid me to build the site quickly and efficiently with a focus on performance
Results
To be continued…